Wheeling University’s Mike Llanas is prepping for his third season at the helm of the Lady Cardinals. He has much to be excited about.
While the Cards finished just 11-19 (9-13) last season, they nearly tripled the win total from the season prior. The 69-60 win against Davis & Elkins gave WU its first conference-tourney win since the conference championship season of 2016-17.
Llanas loses the services of three seniors in Khira Burton, Taliah Cashwell, and Lauren Lipscomb, but returns one of the top players in Division II in All-American Lilly Ritz, the nation’s leading rebounder as a sophomore.
That’s a far better starting point than most teams. But Llanas knew that for his team to continue building on that success and foundation, certain areas needed addressed.
Chief on that list is scoring and, in particular, perimeter scoring.
Wheeling finished 10th in the MEC in points per game at 67.1. Conference champ Glenville averaged 106.1, and the Top 7 teams were all above 78.
A big reason for that is the team’s lack of a consistent 3-point threat. The Cardinals shot 27 percent from behind the arc and averaged a league-low four triples per game.
“Bottom line is we have to get the ball into the basket,” Llanas said.
Send Rebounding Help, STAT
Ritz averaged 16 rebounds per game to lead all Division II. Her 480 total rebounds were 52 more than the runner-up—Davis & Elkins’ Jamiyah Johnson.
Even with those totals, Wheeling still finished seventh and ninth in the MEC in offensive and defensive rebounding, respectively.
Can you name the team’s second-leading rebounder at 4.2 points per game? Unless your answer was TEAM, guess again.
The next two highest individuals were Cashwell (3.3) and Lipscomb (3.1).
“We needed to improve our overall shooting percentage, overall rebounding, and defense and we made some strides in those areas, but I think these freshmen we are bringing in are really going to help get us over the top,” Llanas said.
On paper, there’s certainly much to be excited about. You can even say Wheeling might be one of the bigger surprises in the MEC next season.
The potential is certainly there.
Two of the recruits are Division-I caliber athletes. One graduated a semester early and enrolled at Ohio State to participate in a different sport while another was set to play for mid-major Youngstown State before a knee injury renewed the availability of her services.
The remaining three are also skilled, and each has a particular area where they can make an immediate impact.
The Muscle
First up is Grace Allen, a 5-11 forward from Buckeye High School in Medina. Allen graduated in December and enrolled at The Ohio State University in Columbus, not for basketball, but for crew.
As Llanas told it, Allen is a fierce competitor and missed the in-your-face competition of basketball that rowing simply lacks. She wanted back on the court.
What Allen offers is a sizable combination of scoring, defense, and a rebounding ferocity that should immediately pay dividends in the paint. Good luck fighting for 50-50 rebounds with someone that finds competitive rowing fun.
“We told her in recruiting we’d like you to be a 10 (points) and 5 (rebounds) player, or a 5 and 10 player,” Llanas joked. “She’ll be big on both ends and could be our Dennis Rodman, and that’s tough to say when you have the nation’s leading rebounder on your team.”
Allen does more offensively than catch and shoot in the paint or corral rebounds. Llanas complimented her already polished mid-range game and pull-up ability. She’s being brought in to complement Ritz at the four spot and give the All-American help on the boards, in the scoring column and in defending the paint.
“She is a true power forward,” Llanas added.
The Shooter
The Ohio Valley’s contribution to this class is first-team All-W.Va. guard Shanley Woods from Wheeling Park.
The Patriots’ all-time leading 3-point shooter—boys or girls—averaged 18.9 points per game while hitting 82 triples as a senior. Not just a volume shooter, Woods took a lot (200) but connected at a 42 percent clip from range.
For comparison, only one player in the MEC last season, Charleston’s Dakota Reeves, shot better than 38 percent. Even Division II 3-point leader Morgan Brunner of West Liberty shot at 35 percent.
“We haven’t shot the ball well from three in two years,” Llanas lamented. “We need that threat back into our lineup. Shanley right away brings that to the table.
“She understands that there are some other things she needs to work on, but she’s ready for the challenge. If she can give us scoring from other places, great. But she needs to come in guns blazing from the start from the outside.”
Llanas is looking for Woods to see immediate time at the 1 or 2 and provide that missing perimeter punch. The opportunity is there for her.
It also helps the team overall. Wheeling’s offensive was a lot of Ritz, mixed with large helpings of dribble penetration last season. Teams learned not to place emphasis on perimeter and focused on defending the paint.
If Woods can provide even 30 or 40 triples for the season as a freshman, it will open up the inside in a major way.
The Scorer
Ritz led the team in scoring last season at 21 points per game and was the focal point of the offense. Players like Burton (15) and Cashwell (11.7) were solid complements, especially in Burton’s case.
But with both gone, the Cardinals needed another player capable of sharing the load with Ritz who has the capability of hitting for 20-plus if need be.
Enter Wooster’s Macyn Siegenthaler, a 5-foot-9 scoring machine who, if not for a knee injury her junior season, likely would not be included in this recruiting roundup.
But that works fine for Llanas. Youngstown State’s loss is Wheeling’s gain.
“Macyn is another who has a great pull-up jumper,” Llanas said. “She can score inside, shoot the 3 and has scored in volume her entire career.
“She comes from a great family and is very grounded, and she could still have been waiting for more Division I offers but, ultimately, I think she wanted to go somewhere where she knew could play right away.”
Siegenthaler was second-team All-Ohio in Division I both as a sophomore and again last season after averaging 22.8 points per game. It wasn’t uncommon to see her hit for 30 plus on any given night. Her 1,000th point came during her sophomore season.
Her game isn’t all offense, however. Siegenthaler is a solid anticipatory defender and is capable of forcing turnovers in bunches.
The Glass Cleaner
Next up is the lone player not from the tri-state area as 6-1 post Ciadorah Angervil is making her way north after playing for Grandview Prep in Boca Raton, Fla.
As a senior, Angervil was a double-double machine, finishing with 10.8 and 10.1 on a team that reached the state semifinals two years in a row.
An interesting stat is that of her nearly 300 total rebounds as a senior, her offensive rebounding totals nearly doubled her defensive.
“She’s a power kid and one that kind of reminds me of Johnson over at D&E,” Llanas said. “She is looking to compete against the best, and she knows she’s got an All-American at her position.
“It’s great to have a young person that wants to be challenged like that.”
Llanas noted that Angervil never had competition for playing time and is looking forward to the challenge. It’s not the only major change she’s looking forward to either.
Angervil is a Haitian American, and after living both there and in South Florida, Wheeling and the Upper Ohio Valley as a whole will seem like a different world at first.
The Point Guard
The final piece to the recruiting puzzle is Central Crossing point-guard Haley Cox.
Llanas noted that with the graduation of Burton, no player has been penciled in as her replacement at point-guard. Cox will get a chance to be in the mix right away.
“No one has been earmarked for that position,” Llanas said of point. “It is a wide-open competition.”
What may set Cox apart has nothing to do with the offensive end.
Can Cox score? Yes. She finished as the all-time leading scorer at Central Crossing for both boys’ and girls’ basketball. Does she have a solid set of handles and ability to get her teammates involved in the offense? That’s also a yes.
But similar to West Liberty’s Audrey Tingle, Cox is a great rebounding point guard.
Above all though, she’s a tenacious defender and in a conference that features a lot of ball-dominant point guards who light up the scoreboard, that factors huge.
“She is a very good defender and prides herself on defense,” Llanas said. “This is a guard that rebounds, takes charges, and works on the defensive end. Offensively, it’ll be hard to replace a two-year starter in Burton, but Haley told me she wants to come in and compete and earn that spot.”
